DALLAS, TEXAS — The Republican Party is holding a midterm convention in Dallas, Texas. Donald Trump will deliver a keynote address on Wednesday and closing remarks on Thursday at the convention.

Delegates at the event will not make party rules or draw up a policy platform. Vice-President JD Vance, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Attorney General Todd Blanche, Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, and Donald Trump Jr are scheduled to speak at the gathering. A Republican source stated that more than 20,000 tickets had been distributed for the convention, and at least 100 members of Congress were expected to attend.

A survey of more than 70 Republican candidates and members found 45 who either do not plan to attend the Dallas convention or are still considering it. Some Republican candidates cited the $25,000 price of attending the convention as a reason for not planning to go. Texas Senate candidate Carlos De La Cruz replaced 'TRUMP CONSERVATIVE' with 'PROVEN CONSERVATIVE' on his website.

Kentucky candidate Ralph Alvarado changed his campaign messaging to 'INDEPENDENT LEADERSHIP'. Nevada candidate Martin O’Donnell removed his Trump endorsement photo from his website. South Texas candidate Eric Flores replaced 'SUPPORT PRESIDENT TRUMP’S AGENDA' with 'LOWER THE COST OF LIVING' on his website. Alaska candidate Nick Begich edited his homepage to state: 'We have delivered for Alaska.' Wisconsin congressman Tom Tiffany publicly rebuked Trump’s renaming of Lake Ontario as 'Lake America'. Michigan congressman Tom Barrett is campaigning on his votes to limit Trump’s war in Iran and his support for the War Powers Resolution.

"This is essentially a Trump rally that they’re calling a midterm convention," said Elaine Kamarck, senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution. "They’re trying to get enthusiasm among their base because that’s what they need for November. Basically, this is a Trump show." Donald Trump's approval rating is 33%, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted last week.

The poll found 46% of Democrats describe themselves as 'very enthusiastic' about voting in November, compared with 31% of Republicans. "It is an incredibly risky strategy for any Republican at this point to hitch his wagon to Donald Trump," said Tara Setmayer, co-founder of the Seneca Project. "He doesn’t care about any of these other candidates. He only cares about two things when it comes to the midterms: one, that he won’t be investigated and two, that he can get his appointments through the Senate," said Allan Lichtman, history professor at American University.

The Democratic Party held midterm conventions in 1974, 1978, and 1982. In 1978, the event became a forum for Ted Kennedy to informally announce his opposition to president Carter, Kamarck said. "The Democratic party has never thought of doing this again and, whenever it has, people like me say, ‘No, are you absolutely crazy?’" she added. The last time Dallas hosted a national political convention was in 1984, when Republicans renominated President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George H.W. Bush, who went on to win reelection in a landslide.